Letters To The Editor

August 04, 2009

Revitalize area

My message concerns the 26-acre, high-crime area at Jefferson Avenue and Mercury Boulevard. Wal-Mart has shown interest in a new store there. This makes good sense - to begin revitalizing Jefferson Avenue, all the way to the waterfront. A shopping area at the end of Jefferson is already making the news. In the course of time, the two will come together.

I am 91 years old and will not be around to see this happen, but I like to dream about good things for future generations.

Barbara Pereira

Hampton

Leaving NN

I few years ago I moved to Newport News, lured to Virginia by lower taxes and a better quality of life. At that time I loved Newport News for its great location, cultural activities and easy access to the interstate. Newport News has changed a lot since I moved in, and I am now sad to say I will no longer call this city home.

I will be relocating to James City County, where the county hasn't wasted money on something like an empty City Center (New Town is always packed), where the fire department has all of its equipment in service and, most importantly, where the taxes are much lower. James City County isn't proposing investing (wasting) in its troubled southern end the revenue generated from residents and businesses in middle and upper parts of the locality. James City County does all this while providing a robust school system and many well-maintained parks and trails for its residents, not to mention a significantly more professional and well-equipped police force.

I know I am not the only person who thinks this way about Newport News.

I will now take my family and, most importantly, my tax dollars to a place where I feel my money isn't being wasted.

Tim Tyson

Newport News

Time for new vision

It was recently stated that members of Surry's Board of Supervisors were visionaries when it came to the decision to allow a nuclear power plant to be built in our county in the early 1970s. Yes, that is absolutely true; they were stepping out in faith when they made that decision, as they were dealing with an issue that was new and largely unknown. We are all fortunate that the nuclear plant has been a safe neighbor, an employer and a source of large tax revenues. Any area that is considering inviting a nuclear plant now has the advantage of looking at the data that has been collected here over the last 30-plus years.

Today, local governing bodies are faced with a controversial decision involving another power station. The huge difference is that this time the data has already been collected and is readily available. Coal-fired power plants, as they exist today with all the newest technology, are enormous sources of deadly pollutants. One does not need to be an "environmentalist" to see the potential damage to our air, water, land and life. Tomorrow's visionaries, regarding today's decision, will be those who are willing to stand up against the proposed power plant.

Looking back can be a good thing; we can clearly see our victories and our progress and learn from other's mistakes, without having to experience everything ourselves. Surry County once again needs to be visionary by not welcoming a coal-fired power plant in our backyards and moving forward with better alternative sources of power and tax revenue.

Kathryn Simms Oliver

Surry

Government issue

I received my Medicare "health insurance" card in the mail today. I was both shocked and dismayed. It is a plain paper card printed with black ink. There is no bar code, no magnetic strip, no picture of the authorized user, and since it is plain card stock, it will fade and become filthy in my billfold. In short, it is no more technologically advanced than the Social Security card I received when I was 14 - more than 40 years ago.

Credit cards have magnetic strips, my driver's license has a bar code, my Costco card even has my picture imprinted on it, and all are made of durable plastic to last. And the government thinks they can fix health care? Please!